Conestoga Wood Specialties v. Burwell

The Hahns are a practicing Mennonite Christian family who have sought to run their company, Conestoga Wood Specialties, which manufactures custom wood products, in a manner that reflects their sincerely held religious beliefs, including their belief in the sanctity of human life.

The Hahn family’s ability to do so was challenged when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a mandate requiring businesses to pay for insurance coverage for abortion-inducing drugs and devices or else be fined up to $100 per day, per employee. Alliance Defending Freedom represented the Hahns at the Supreme Court. Their case was heard, along with that of the Green family of Hobby Lobby, in the spring of 2014.

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 against the Obama administration’s abortion pill mandate, stating that families like the Hahns and the Greens do not have to surrender their religious freedom or violate their conscience in order to remain in business. No American family should be forced to choose between violating their faith and government punishment.

Case timeline

• January 2013: With the help of ADF and allied attorneys, Conestoga Wood Specialties filed a lawsuit against HHS alleging its mandate that for-profit corporations provide abortion pills for their employees violated RFRA. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied the request to halt enforcement of the mandate.
• July 2013: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision. The 3rd Circuit ruled the Hahn family was distinct from their corporation, and the mandate applied only to Conestoga Wood Specialties, not the Hahns personally. The court said a corporation was not a person, could not exercise religion, and therefore RFRA did not apply.
• September 2013: ADF and allied attorneys asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.
• June 2014: The Supreme Court reversed the 3rd Circuit’s decision. The Court ruled that closely-held businesses could raise RFRA claims and that the HHS abortion pill mandate violated RFRA as applied to Conestoga Wood Specialties and Hobby Lobby. These businesses were now free to operate without being forced to provide abortion coverage in conflict with their religious beliefs.